Beer Travels: Bozeman Brewing Company in Bozeman, Montana.

Alright, time to finish off one of my New Year's resolutions with brewery trip #6 on the year, a visit to the Bozeman Brewing Company up in Montana!  After flying in, and a quick rest stop for lunch at Mandi's aunt's place, we headed to the brewery for their nightly open house.

 Apparently law in Montana allows the brewery to sell three pints per person (or one growler refill) per night directly, but only between the hours of 4 to 8.  I guess that's an interesting way to allow breweries to sell direct, but only in smaller quantities, or give daily growler fills to the locals.  So,  we picked out a table in their tasting room, and headed to the bar for the first round, the Amber Ale and Belgian Dubbel.

The space was a little small but it is a small town, and they had 8 of their beers on tap, some of the regulars it seemed plus a few special releases. I did like the atmosphere of the bar area / tasting room a lot and they had a handful of tables with barstools plus some popcorn available.

The beers were outstanding, and cheap! The regular pints were $3.50 and snifters of some of the special releases like their Imperial IPA and Barrel Aged Imperial Stout were only $5. I really liked the Imperial IPA a lot, and Mandi loved the Barrel Aged Imperial Stout which was aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels for a very different and interesting flavor.

The standards were quite good as well, and one of the real highlights was the fresh hop ale made from local hop varieties. It was a real treat and the epitome of drinking local.  Apparently Montana is a real hotbed for hops farms... I did not know that.

All in all a great experience and if I'm ever back in Bozeman I'll be stopping in to see what's new on tap. A must-try for any beer lover stopping through. And with that, I'm am done with another New Year's resolution!